Nine essential facts about charity crowdfunding

A recent report by Nesta and the University of Cambridge, Understanding Alternative Finance, found that the total market, including crowdfunding, is set to grow to £1.74bn by the end of 2014.

In an article for the Guardian Voluntary Sector network, Nesta researchers Peter Baeck and Liam Collins share nine facts which charities need-to-know when it comes to crowdfunding.

1. Supporters are likely to donate their time. 34% of fundraisers have seen an increase in volunteering after they fundraised through donation–based crowdfunding

2. People are your best promoters. 70% of backers in rewards-based crowdfunding also gave other support, such as social sharing

3. Supporters don’t just donate cash. 7% of funders using donation-based crowdfunding have supported campaigns by allowing the fundraisers to use their space, while 5% gave physical goods to the campaign

4. Donation-based crowdfunding is often used to back projects others could benefit from rather than what they could use themselves

5. Crowdfunding raises money for those who would struggle to find money elsewhere

6. Fundraisers are likely to use similar methods of raising money in the future

7. Social media is one of the best ways of finding backers for projects with a social purpose

8. Donations are often small. 75% of those donating through donation-based crowdfunding give less than £50 in total